No figure in history is a greater unifier of the world’s prophetic traditions than Prophet Abraham, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him. Jews, Christians and Muslims alike view him as the patriarch of their respective faiths.
To honor the tradition of the great prophet, ICNA Relief annually celebrates Abraham Day right after Eid Al-Adha. It is a day for hundreds of volunteers to exemplify that prophetic characteristic of goodwill by providing hot meals and other necessities to the downtrodden. Men and women, young and old come together across national, racial, ethnic and religious divides, unified in their goal of community service. This year Abraham Day was celebrated in the Bay Area on January 19th. Muslims who made the traditional animal sacrifice on Eid Al-Adha contributed 400 pounds of goat meat. 100 pounds of beef was contributed by the Hidaya Foundation. More than 1400 meals were served with these contributions.
On Abraham Day hot meals were served in four Bay Area locations: United Nations Plaza in San Francisco, the South Bay Islamic Association in San Jose, and two distribution locations in Oakland. Our brothers and sisters from MSA West led the food distribution in one of the locations in Oakland. The meat was prepared with rice, curry and vegetables at Yaseen’s Corner (Santa Clara) and packaged at Masjid Noorul Islam (San Francisco), SBIA and Masjid al-Islam (Oakland).
Enshrined in the Muslim tradition is the encouragement to lift up our brothers and sisters who have fallen. It was this profound urge that brought an overwhelming response from the Muslim community. The event was cosponsored by a number of local organizations including the MCA, SBIA, Hidaya Foundation, MSA West, Masjid Noorul Islam, and Masjid al-Islam. Generous donations were made by individuals and volunteers. Children baked cookies to be handed out.
The efforts of the selfless volunteers, many of whom were sisters, were warmly received and highly appreciated by those whose lives they touched.
